


The Jail

by missbloom



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Jailed-Will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 21:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1124755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbloom/pseuds/missbloom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unknown to her when she steps inside, Alana makes her last visit to see Will at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Jail

Alana tried to visit Will twice a month, that is, if Chilton allowed it; she wasn't surprised that he still had a firm grip over Baltimore State even though he currently resided in a hospital bed, his gut being held in by a thin line of stitches.

She had tried her hardest to be here, she really did, but Alana was only able to make a trip to the institution once this month, her work building up at Quantico as they reached the end of the winter semester.

The week she didn't show, Will couldn't help but think that she had abandoned him, even after 10 months of visitations. _Her life doesn't revolve around me_ , he kept telling himself. But then again, maybe it did; her broken voice echoed in his head, “I don't feel like I dodged a bullet; I feel _wounded_.”

He pushed the memory aside, unable to think about it any longer.

The familiar sound of heels clacking along Baltimore State's cement floor pulled Will out of his fog, giving him a spark of hope that it was _her_.

It was.

As she made her way down the beige and brown decorated corridor, the dull colors giving her a hopeless feeling, she occasionally glanced into the other occupied cells that lined the walls.

A metal folding chair sat a few hundred feet away, waiting for her in front of Will's chamber, the warden on duty having placed it out as soon as she signed in up front.

Will was sitting at his table, one hand atop of it, fingers drumming nervously. At the angle he was place, he could watch her approach long before she could get close enough to make out his face.

He smiled as his eyes swept over her, taking in the white and purple wrap dress she had on; he could tell that it was one of her best. Her hair was draped over one shoulder, the curls a soft brown color, its highlights muted from reflecting the tint of the walls.

He looked down when she stepped in front of the cell neighboring him, knowing his expression was now clear to her.

His voice was loud and echoed off of the brick and plaster walls as he spoke, feeling like he needed to be the one to speak first, “It's so nice to see you.” It sounded like it had been years since he saw her last, not weeks; he turned his head further from her, upset with himself for sounding so weak.

Alana could hear the sincerity in his voice, but it was hard to believe when she couldn't see his countenance, just his brown curls and gray jumpsuit. “It's nice to see you too, Will. I've been away longer than intended,” sitting down, she crossed her legs and placed her hands in her lap. She felt the presence of a metal door behind her, one with only a slot at eye-level to peer in; it made her shiver. “I'm sorry I couldn't come at the beginning of the month; it's exam time at Quantico.”

 _Don't you know you're all I have?_ , was one possible response that bounced around his head, another being, _Why didn't you try_ _harder_ _?_ Instead, he croaked out a measly, “How are the dogs?”

“They're doing perfectly fine, keeping me company; some of the bigger ones really enjoy the snow.”

His head lifted up a fraction in interest, news on the weather outside his cell almost like a foreign concept to him now, “Snow?”

Alana felt her throat starting to close up, _Oh god, he doesn't even know that it's snowed_. “Yeah, a couple inches.”

He was quiet for a moment, trying to decide what to say next. “I hate it here, nothing to do but be trapped in my own mind,” _oh, yeah, because that's not depressing at all_.

Alana stomach knotted up in empathy, but there wasn't much she could do about freeing him of his torment. The woman tilted her head, a habit she tended to do when she asked questions, “Do you want me to see if I can convince Chilton to let you have a crossword puzzle or a book or something?”

A smirk became visible as he turned his head in her direction, yet he still didn't look up, “Anything to distract my thoughts.” He blinked, eyes moving to watch his fingers as they fidgeted on the plastic table top.

Alana thought she was going to scream, yell until they had no choice but to let him out; he looked so miserable, so distraught and lonely. Her voice ended up coming out surprisingly steady despite the ache in every fiber of her being, “I'll make sure to ask on my way out.” She readjusted the position of her crossed legs before continuing on a different, more positive topic, “Hannibal and Beverly say hello.”

Silence as his fingers froze their rhythmic taps. “I'm sure they do.” Just the mention of Hannibal's name set Will's nerves on edge, his theories on the man and what he has done perched on the edge of his tongue, threatening to spill out and reach Alana's ears. Beverly's name just made him sad, a woman he had considered a friend now probably thinking of him as a murder.

Alana watched him in silence, noticing how his fingers shook like this was one of the most difficult things in the world for him, talking to her. Maybe it was. “Will?” She wanted him to look at her, just a glance would do, so she could confirm for herself what emotions were held up behind his eyes, get a peek at the things he didn't want to talk about. Standing with her hands together at her waist, she waited for him to respond.

Slowly, he raised his head, “Mm?” and made eye contact with her for a single second before they glassed over and he broke the connection, turning to stare at his cot.

More unease of her stomach; his eyes had been so faded, so... dead, almost, and tired. Stepping closer to the bars of his cell, her well-worn, leather boots toed the acceptable distance she was supposed to get to it. She knew the guards were watching them on the cameras, and she kept her voice purposefully quiet, not wanting them to overhear her request, “Come here... please.”

His movements were instant yet hesitant as he pushed off the table, his pace slow until he stopped a step behind the bars. Alana could feel her spine tingle as their gazes met once again, tears instantly pressing against the back of her eyes. She could practically feel his craving for her roll off of him in waves, _He misses me so much_. There was just something about the way he looked at her that allowed her to know her presumptions were true.

Pressing her lips together in effort to keep the tears back, her voice ended up being just a whisper, “It's weird not seeing you at least once a week, like I could at the Academy. I hate these twice monthly visits.” Somehow she figured out her own way of saying 'I miss you' without actually speaking those exact words.

Her breath caught as he took that one step forward, soft thuds reaching her ears as the rubber toes of his Velcro shoes bumped against the iron bars. She immediately knew what he planned to do. “No, Will--” his hands moved in the corner of her eye, up through the space between the bars to settle gently upon her cheek, but she still didn't move, didn't even break their strong gaze.

Eventually she had to squeeze her eyes shut as the tears rolled down her flushed skin, head turning as so she could press onto his warm palm. “It's my only taste of reality,” she blinked her eyes open to see him smiling, and she lifted her own hand to cover his.

Seconds now before she had to go, before everything shattered around them. It felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest when the loud, double wail of the low-alert siren filled the air, the two of them wincing as red lights flashed down on them from the ceiling.

The clank of security doors unlocking and rough shouting could be heard behind her, but Alana kept her ground, allowing the guards to grab her and yank her away with unnecessary force, her curls flying in front of her face to block her view of Will. “I told you not to let him touch you,” one of them hissed in her ear, pulling her down the hall by her arm. There would definitely be a bruise from his grip upon her skin in the morning.

Taking in the scene around quickly changing scene her, she broke into open sobs at the sight of guns and tasers being pointed at the 'misbehaving' inmate, Will's face twisting as he broke down to tears and shouted out, “No!” falling onto his knees as his cell was unlocked, armed wardens rushing in.

Alana just barely heard his, “I'm sorry,” through the chaos, and that's when something clicked inside of her; he was innocent. She had been doubting his guiltiness for a while, but now she just _knew_. Will wasn't the man who had killed Abigail Hobbs, the very girl he had been a guardian over, and he wasn't the man who had killed all those other girls. The fact that they were treating him like this despite his innocence enraged her, and she finally decided to fight back.

Tugging against the man's grip on her arm, she yelled out as loud as possible, “Leave him alone! He didn't do anything!” They ignored her, for the most part, and continued to restrain Will. She carried on for a minute or so, her escort letting her get whatever troubled her out of her system.

Once she realized there was no use defending him here in the heart of the hospital of all places, she changed her request, “Let me say goodbye, please! Just let me say goodbye to him!”

The guard seemed amused by her request, deciding that she really needed to go now. Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her back towards the exit, “Oh, no, I doubt you will ever even step foot in here again, not this wing at least.”

The usually calm and controlled woman clawed at his arm, but soon gave up when she realized it was no use anymore, he was trained to not give in to plea's like hers. Instead, she used his presence of a source of comfort, turning and sobbing into his chest, letting him lead her away.

And the guard had been right; Dr. Alana Bloom was stripped of her access pass until Will was released or transferred, Chilton making sure she wasn't allowed in even for Christmas or Easter.

Alana regretted not bringing Will the present she had bought him at one of their earlier visits, but maybe it was for the best. She didn't know exactly how it would have made him feel, and she didn't want her gift to make his time in this hell-hole worse than it already was.

Neither Will or Alana knew, though, that they'd be seeing each other fairly soon, at least compared to the time Will had already been in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, and neither of them knew that that was when their lives would change forever.


End file.
